BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - UAB threw out its normal offensive game plan to help out a struggling defense against Middle Tennessee, and it very nearly worked.

The Blazers opened the game with 26 straight rushes and controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes, but it was Middle Tennessee that made five big second-half plays en route to a 24-21 win over UAB at Legion Field on Saturday in front of a listed crowd of 20,483.

UAB (2-6, 1-3 Conference USA) tied the game at 21-all with 1:50 left on Jonathan Perry's 21-yard touchdown pass to Jamarcus Nelson and Perry's 2-point conversion run. MTSU (5-4, 3-2) then went 74 yards on six plays, getting an 18-yard field goal from Cody Clark for the win with three seconds left.

"That's just football," said UAB kicker Ty Long, who drilled field goals from 37 and 50 yards. "That's how it goes sometime. Some team can be clicking all for the first three (quarters) and in the fourth quarter, it can turn."

The Blazers ran the ball for the first 26 plays of the game and Perry only threw nine passes - just two before the fourth quarter. UAB got 154 yards on 23 carries from Jordan Howard and 111 yards on 27 carries from Darrin Reaves.

"We thought it would give us a better chance to win games," UAB head coach Garrick McGee said. "Our defense played well today, but numbers say we're struggling. A way for us to limit that offense and help our defense was to handle the ball on offense and commit to run the ball.

"I thought it was a good plan. It cut the game in half and it didn't let them get into the 80s or 90s in total reps (plays)."

UAB led 7-0 at halftime and 10-0 early in the third. MTSU scored on a 3-yard pass from Logan Kilgore to Kyle Griswould and took a 14-13 lead with 9:41 left in the game when Kilgore threw a 93-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Henry.

It was a short slant, but Henry broke away from two tackles and was off to the races. MTSU took a 21-13 lead with 6:26 when Perry's pass was intercepted by Stephen Roberts and returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

The interception and 93-yard touchdown reception were two big plays. The first of five big second-half plays came when Reggie Whatley ran 49 yards to set up MTSU's first touchdown.

"He pretty much broke a whole bunch of tackles," UAB linebacker Patrick Bastien said. "A lot of guys let up thinking he was down. There wasn't really too much on their part. We really messed up on that play."

"They ran an outside zone," McGee said. "I think our guys misread the run-pass key and let them run free for a long run and got it down there."

On 2nd-and-5 from the UAB 34, Kilgore hit Henry for a 33-yard gain to the UAB 1. He caught the ball in between safety Greg Franklin and cornerback Jimmy Jean.

"We had a bracket called on that guy and our guys were in position," McGee said. "That's how football works. It comes down to somebody making a play and somebody doesn't. Their guy came down and made the catch."

Henry made the catch with 7 seconds left. MTSU was out of timeouts and ran down for the spike. Referees then signaled UAB called timeout. McGee said that safety Jake Ganus did not call timeout, but referees said he did.

"They would have to rush their field goal team on the field, potentially get a penalty and I can get a 10-second runoff and (it goes to overtime)," McGee said.

"It's really tough because referees don't know the kid. I tried to explain to them, 'That's the best kid I've got.' He knows in that situation that you let the clock run out. He's not going to let the clock run out. There was a referee that heard Jake call timeout and let them get a free kick."

UAB has two tough games upcoming against Marshall next week and then East Carolina. Both are on the road.

"You go back and you continue to grind," McGee said. "You learn from it. I think our kids should see that, if they trust in what we're doing and they believe in the battle, that they can compete with anybody. It'll get to a point in time in the game where we've got to make a play to win the game.

"Once we get into the fourth quarter, we're going to need guys to make game-winning type plays."